TenengMba
Jaiteh, former Energy minister and ambassador to Brussels, yesterday told the
Janneh Commission that Green Industries were operated from public funds.

Mrs.
Jaiteh was testifying in connection to Gamtel gateway contracts.

During
her testimony, she informed the commission that she is Gambia’s ambassador to
Brussels, Belgium, but prior to that, she served in various capacities in the
former government, starting as assistant secretary, Ministry of Works and also
acted as deputy permanent secretary, Personnel Management Office (PMO),
secretary to Cabinet as well as secretary general.

According
to her, she was involved in the termination of contract awarded to Spectrum by
the government under the directive of the former president. At this juncture,
commission’s counsel, Amie Bensouda, showed her some letters which she said
were signed by her in relation to the termination of Spectrum and the purchase
of Gamtel/Gamcel shares. The said letters were tendered and admitted as
exhibits.

Further
testifying, she told the commission that on the 28th of October, 2008, the
former president instructed the management of Gamtel/Gamcel, PURA, the director
general of NIA, secretary of state, Ministry of Finance, Communication and the
attorney general to review the management agreement with Spectrum. She added
that the NIA was to come up with a report on the alleged fraud and breaches
made by Spectrum because there were allegations that funds were diverted and
they were also terminating traffic from Lebanon.

However,
she said she did not see the National Intelligence Agency report; adding that
the former president said that sales of Gamtel were coming down and senior
Gamtel officials were being laid off.

She
further testified that Spectrum did not comply with the terms and conditions of
the contract, and therefore a criminal investigation was mounted as recommended
by the attorney general because the international gateway was taken to Lebanon
and an offshore account was opened without authority.

The
diplomat disclosed that the former president gave Spectrum officials 72 hours
to furnish them with information and Cabinet were briefed on the NIA report
during which they cautioned the executive on the breaching of contracts, as it
might end up being a court case.

According
to her, at the time of signing a contract with Spectrum, Gamtel owned 90% of
the company; adding that they were called by the former president to meet
System 1 representatives on the 1st of November, 2008. She said the briefing
was about the said company. She added that while on the briefing, they were
told that System 1 gave technical support to Global Voice and that Spectrum was
using switches of Global Voice.

Mrs.
Jaiteh informed the commission that they asked System 1 to provide them with
documents if they were interested in investing in The Gambia; adding that the
former president told them that the draft contract they submitted to him was at
variance.

According
to Mrs. Jaiteh, she received directives from the former president to write a
minute for the purchase of Gamtel/Gamcel shares by Spectrum.

However,
she told the commission that she was not privy to that rather she was
instructed to write letters in connection to the contract with Spectrum, noting
that she was never involved in the negotiation of the contract with Spectrum
neither did she deal with Mr. Bazzi .

She
said the Gambian side of the contract with Spectrum was signed by the then
minister of Justice, adding that the transaction was too much to be handled.

When
quizzed by Commissioner Bai Mass Saine as to who represented the Gambia’s
interest in the said company (Spectrum), she responded that it was the former
Vice President and the former Justice minister.

Mrs.
Jaiteh further testified that the representatives of Spectrum were not on the
ground for the termination of the contract with Spectrum, further stating that
she was never involved in the issue of buying shares.

“I
did not see the report of the NIA neither did I follow up,” she told the
commission.

At
this juncture, instructions issued by the office of the former president to the
Ministry of Finance for disbursement of funds from a Central Bank account were
tendered and admitted as exhibits.

According
to Mrs. Jaiteh, the former president was advised to appoint a minister of
Communication and Technology because matters of communication were too
technical to them, as they did not have the expertise. She said she confessed
to the former president that it was too technical to handle.

She
explained that despite being given 24 hours with System 1 contract, they wrote
to say that the company would not serve Gambia’s interest; adding that she
never spoke with Mr. Charara neither did she meet him.

On
other request for payments signed by the witness, she responded that she could
not remember exactly what the money was meant for but was of the belief that it
had to do with the treatment of HIV/AIDS by the former president.

At
this juncture, Counsel Bensouda told her that the sum of $46,325,000 was paid to AMS Corporation in connection to
the acquisition of state aircraft while the sum of $1,000,000 was paid into a
CBG account of one Dr. Buba Badjie, who was in Sweden which she said was an
instruction from the chief of protocol, Alagie Ousman Ceesay.

She
said Mr. Ceesay told her that the purpose of the money was for a poultry
project and Mr. Badjie was to provide the equipment for the project but she did
not know whether the equipment arrived in The Gambia, neither did she know
where the poultry project was located.

On
the payment of $250,000 as scholarship payments to medical students in the
United States of America, she said instructions were given to transfer the said
sum to the embassy of The Gambia in Washington DC and the instruction for the
disbursement of the funds was signed by Dr. Njogu Bah.

At
this juncture, Counsel Bensouda put it to her that those who received the
scholarship never sounded as Gambians but the witness responded that it was the
first time she was seeing the document neither did the transaction pass through
her.

When
asked about the payment of $32,400,000 to the former president, she confirmed
that it should have been paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund; adding that
this payment was out of the ordinary.

It
was further put to her by the counsel that there was an instruction to transfer
monies from the Central Bank to Trust Bank in the name of Green Industry to
which she said was signed by her and Njogu Bah.

According
to her, the said industry was setup by the former president and one Sheriff
Nyang and they were partnering with some Chinese but it was an unorganised
enterprise. The CEO of GIPZA went to her office and explained that Green
industry owed them a lot of money, she narrated. She said that it was operated
from public funds and the purpose was to create employment and for development
and they were making uniforms, clothes, baby diapers, toilet papers among other
things.

The
witness alleged that when the former president was unable to handle the
company, he dumped it on them but they persuaded him for a business plan to be
made for the operation of the company.

However,
counsel Bensouda put it to her that the office of the former president was not
a business entity and there were institutions that were in charge of
businesses, further stating that they tried very hard to discourage the former
president from being involved into business, and that it was difficult to deal
with him.

At
this juncture, Commissioner Saine interjected and told the witness that public
administration was different from business administration, and notwithstanding,
the former president appointed himself as chief investment officer and was
making numerous financial decisions.

In
response, the witness acknowledged that the office of the former president is a
government office and not a business entity but the former president was of the
belief that anything that was not operated from his office was not efficient.

Mrs.
Jaiteh, however, testified that not all that was operated at that level was
indeed efficient, noting that they succeeded in some areas while they failed in
others.

She
finally told the commission that due to Gamtel issue, she was removed from the
office of the former president.

Next
to testify was Fatim Badjie, former minister of Communication and Health
respectively, who was summoned in connection to Gamtel and Spectrum gateway
contract.

She
said it was correct that she was a public servant and had served as a minister
of the said portfolios.

At
this juncture, the counsel asked her to look at Spectrum/Gamtel gateway
contract as well as some letters, and she confirmed signing one of them.
However, the witness told the commission that she did not see some of the
documents before which triggered the counsel to apply for her testimony to be
adjourned, so as to give her the opportunity to photocopy and refresh her
memory on the documents.

Next
to testify was the managing director of Standard Charted Bank, Olukorede
Adenowo, who reappeared in connection to the sale of Kairaba Beach Hotel and
Premier Agro Oil Company.

He
told the commission that he had both letters of Kairaba Beach Hotel and the
bank. He said following an agreement and the payment of $10,000,000, there was
a subsequent payment of $2,600,000 paid into the hotel’s account. However, he
said he could not find any document relating to the facility extended to the
hotel.

According
to him, the hotel instructed the bank to pay $7,000,000 to Trust Bank foreign
account. At that point, the counsel tasked him to find out the original owners
and the previous management as well as the current one. The witness revealed
that Millennium Trading was managing the hotel before it was sold to M.A.
Kharafi.

Documents
relating to the purchase price of the hotel by M.A. Kharafi, instructions of
payments by Kharafi and other related correspondences were admitted as
exhibits.

Finally
Mr. Adenowo disclosed to the commission that they never had anything like
collateral security for Agro Oil Company other than the venture agreement which
he had submitted to the commission.

Mr.
Musa Balla Gaye, former minister of Finance, testified in connection to Gamtel
gateway after he gave a synopsis of his services in government way back from
1970.

He
said the former government had never discussed the sale of 50% share of Gamtel/Gamcel to Spectrum; adding that there
was no due process in the sale of Gamtel/Gamcel shares as people like the
attorney general were never involved in the negotiation, as the president
constituted his own negotiation team.

The
former Finance minister informed the commission that he was not aware of the
evaluation of Gamtel/Gamcel by the former government, as the Finance minister
at the time. He added that he could not give evidence on the shareholders of
Gamtel/Gamcel because they were only summoned and instructed to execute orders
given by the former president.

He,
however, testified that the normal practice in government was that government
shares were held in the name of the permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance
but was not sure whether due process was followed. He said on one-on-one basis, he advised the
former president and he heeded to his advice but not at Cabinet level.

While
responding to Commissioner Saine, he said: “As minister of Finance, I was
empowered to advise the president, but in the case of Spectrum, the former
president already took his decision.”

“I
don’t think it was prudent after the president took a decision. I told him to
change his decision despite being empowered by the National Assembly. The
former president was doing things in his own way,” said Gaye.

He
further said that notwithstanding, it did not mean that whatever the former
president did was okay with him, but after he came up with a decision, he would
not come out plainly and challenge it. However, Counsel Bensouda told him that
it was his responsibility to advise the president when he was wrong in some of
his decisions.